In our previous installment of Social Media Spotlight, we took a look at how blogs can help tell your company’s story and draw in new customers. Well, now it’s time to take a deeper dive into how to craft a blog post.

Alex Krasne and I have been writing and blogging for quite a while now (about 30 years, combined, to be exact), so we know a thing or two about how to shape ideas in a way that engages readers and generates a conversation. Here are our eight tips on how to write a solid blog entry.

Read on to find out the details on our eight tips, as well as links to several partner blogs: Read More »

It may seem that Facebook and Twitter get all the attention in social media circles these days, while the simple blog has been pushed to the sidelines. But in truth, a blog can and should lie at the center of your social media strategy. After all, a blog enables you to set the narrative for your company in a way that no other Web 2.0 tool can.

In fact, more than half of Internet users read a blog at least monthly and find them very influential, according to research from Technorati and eMarketer. Want to tell a customer success story? Need to spread information about an upcoming company-sponsored event? A blog can serve those needs, and more. Ultimately, you should think of your blog as the hub for your social media activities.

Setting up a blog on your website requires a little programming expertise (here’s some tips on how to do that), but once you’re up and running, it’s good to follow a few guidelines for shaping the content that you’re presenting.

Choose Your Topics

Not certain of what to write about? One of the best places to start is by introducing your company blog as a place to share ideas. Readers will be encouraged to hear that your blog is a place they can respond to—literally, with comments on your content. Inviting feedback is a great way to establish customer conversations.

From there, you can host a company-wide brainstorm session to see what topics customers ask about and where their pain points are. If you can address a customer need on your blog, or show customers how to do something, or lend your expertise, customers will look to you as a trusted source. (And this can also have the added benefit of boosting sales.)

You can also blog about a news story by putting your own twist on it and why it’s important to your readers. Another thing you can do is link out to another blogger and credit them with sharing something interesting, and offer your thoughts on the topic. The possibilities for content are endless.

Last week, I had the pleasure of being invited back to my Alma Mater, Syracuse University, for several discussions on social media in the enterprise and my career path. While the weather wasn’t quite sunny and alive, the students’ overwhelming interest on the topic of social media surely made up for it! I was so pleased to see a room full of excited students and faculty for both of my discussions!

Thanks to everyone for the taking the time to attend and a very special thank you to Syracuse University (@SyracuseU), the iSchool (@iSchoolSU), Anthony Rotolo (@rotolo), Jeff Rubin (@jhrubin), Kelly Lux (@KellyLux) and Kim Brown (@kimincuse)! I also had the opportunity to be a guest speaker in several lectures during my visit, which included a large class of 150 students all the way down to a smaller more intimate class of about 20 students. It was so great to be back on campus and knowing that I didn’t have a paper or mid-term exam due! (Btw, did you know that they now randomly select “attendance days” and ask students to swipe their university ID cards to get attendance credit? If you snooze, you lose ;-))

My visit to my alma mater Syracuse University (April 2011)

My discussions at Syracuse focused around how social media has changed and will continue to change the ways in which we communicate both within the enterprise and externally with our customers. We are no longer living in a world of 1:1 communications. Read More »

Since starting my role in Cisco Channels social media some three years ago, I’ve been asked a lot of questions: “What video camera should I buy?” “Who do you like to follow on Twitter?” “Who does your hair?” (OK, no one’s actually asked me the last question, but drop me a note in the comments if you really want to know.)

But the most commonly asked questions that I hear over and over are: How do I get started with social media, what are the best tools to use, and how do I engage more customers? Well, in the interest of helping Cisco partners around the globe achieve resounding social media success, I’m happy to announce our new Channels blog series: Social Media Spotlight!

In this series, my fellow Channels blogger Kalpana Ettenson and I will be addressing any and all social media questions that you have. For starters, we want you to post your most burning social media questions in the comments below so we can address them in upcoming blog posts.

And we also have a few topics planned based on questions we’ve gotten in the past…Read More »

Partner Velocity has been keeping me busy! In the midst of attending sessions, interviewing speakers, capturing video clips, and catching a few quick bites, I managed to carve out some time to host my own session, “Leveraging the Power of Video with Live Streaming.” During my talk, which was also broadcast live over Ustream, I discussed and demonstrated how to setup your own live Ustream session from start to finish.

Some of the individuals posting to this site, including the moderators, work for Cisco Systems. Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of Cisco. The content is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be an endorsement or representation by Cisco or any other party. This site is available to the public. No information you consider confidential should be posted to this site. By posting you agree to be solely responsible for the content of all information you contribute, link to, or otherwise upload to the Website and release Cisco from any liability related to your use of the Website. You also grant to Cisco a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free and fully-paid, transferable (including rights to sublicense) right to exercise all copyright, publicity, and moral rights with respect to any original content you provide. The comments are moderated. Comments will appear as soon as they are approved by the moderator.